By 2035, Latin America and the Caribbean will register a total of 638 million passengers. Similarly, it will contribute some US$ 380 billion to the regional GDP by that date. This is double the number of registered users in 2015: about 298 million, the year in which the contribution to GDP reached US$ 176 billion. The data was provided by Marcelo Pedroso, IATA's Director of Industry Relations for Brazil. The executive wondered whether the region is ready for such an expansion. "There is a great need to regulate the aviation industry in one fundamental area, which is safety. But regulation in trade matters makes no sense. Airlines must be malleable in order to format products and offer them to different types of customers," he said.